Illini Zip

Ryan Prather Jr departs. Zips add Bowen Hardman. Note: Prather was the sole Sophomore on the team going into 2024-25. Now we have Seniors, Juniors and Freshmen only. In 2025-26 we have Seniors and Sophomores. 2026-27 Juniors only. 2027-28 Seniors only. I think it's safe to assume that this class balance will likely change again next year.

Does adding Hardman move the needle with respect to the NIL ranking?

I’ll tell you what makes me all warm inside. Improved shooting from deep gives the MAC refs less opportunity to manage the game. Oh, don’t get me wrong they will try…but they will fail.

Sniper yes, but he’s not 7 foot. I protest!! I kid. Very good. I will update the scholarship chart on Monday.

I think this might be the way to go on the white background, thoughts? Okay, I'm done. I do care about these things, but I'm not getting paid and I don't want to upset anybody. I know how much work goes into it.

And here the three combinations are tweaked to appear the same, but the line weights are different. I suggest someone take this advice to heart.

I took a moment to recreate the Akron Logo to illustrate my point. This is the three ways the logo appears on the Akron jersey. They are all scaled exactly the same. But notice how the top one appears to be thicker than the others. This is the color combination I like the best. Edit: I should add that the visual discrepancy is worse on television.

For me personally, there is too much variance in the execution/application of the Akron logo. Sometimes the letter strokes appear thicker or thinner depending on the background. It’s not a mathematical problem, it’s an optical illusion problem. The fuller thicker line version is much more preferred.

Back when Toledo was last in the NCAA Tournament this would have been me waiting for a Banquet chicken pot pie to come out of the oven. Now it's 2024 and things have changed. We live in the digital age. So this is me now waiting for the name of the latest Akron recruit to drop.

I think Groce will continue to recruit high school players while also keeping a certain percentage of the roster for senior transfers. So there will still be some GT types that go the distance. Just not full recruiting classes like before. I agree that this makes maintaining a culture far more difficult.

Fine, but can he please be a 7 foot 3pt assassin/spot up shooter?

Yep, I stand corrected. I thought he went right from Akron to Cincinnati.

I guess it's not safe to get excited until a player starts getting some meaningful minutes. And then you have the Dawson situation where his productivity fell off and left. And then the situation where Aziz Bandaogo leaves for a bigger school. So basically, it's just not safe to get excited. Who am I kidding. I'm still excited. Go Zips!!

Yes sir. Will do.

Zips add Isaiah Gray and Conner Groce. Darrian Baker departs.

One year is all a coach needs to figure out if a guy is a good fit. Even if he’s still inexperienced and raw. It could be almost anything; attitude, work ethic, teamism, intelligence. Remember what UConn’s coach Hurley said, it is sometimes the parents that are the cancer. Could be anything. We might be done. If not, I would like a true center with more than one year of eligibility please.

I don't know who gets credit for the phrase, but that is something Groce has said before. You are correct.

Do we have any idea who is leaving?

I am looking at value gained via the portal. The number of players moving around is irrelevant. The Big Ten is the big winner.

You get a bonus point for using team-ism.

I believe so. I might be reading between the lines a bit too.

I heard that differently. Ford will still handle the defense and Groce will handle the offense. The shake up is with the type of offense. Going from posting up through Freeman to a guard initiated offense.

I don't know what is allowed, but I support an expanded use of the walk-on role if it leads to giving some legit D1 players time to develop. It would also help retain the Akron culture from year to year.

I watched an earlier game that Ali Ali played in. The video stream was not very clear and it looked to be an AAU game. I was proud to see him (them) out there.

I'm hearing that the president of the Memphis NIL collective, Wilson was instrumental in landing the FedEx investment. He is well known for being a passionate fan of beach volleyball and swimming.